Compared to...

Studio scene comparison (RAW)

For a (more) level playing field for comparison we also shot our studio scene in RAW mode with each camera and converted it using Adobe Camera RAW. Because Adobe Camera RAW applies different levels of sharpening to different cameras (this confirmed) we had to use the following workflow for these conversions:

Load RAW file into Adobe Camera RAW (Auto mode disabled)

Set Sharpness to 0 (all other settings default)

Open file to Photoshop

Apply a Unsharp mask: 80%, Radius 1.0, Threshold 0

Save as a TIFF (for cropping) and as a JPEG quality 11 for download

This is our standard studio scene comparison shot taken from exactly the same tripod position. Lighting: daylight simulation, >98% CRI. Crops are 100%. Ambient temperature was approximately 22°C (~72°F). Camera settings as per previous pages.

Canon EOS 450D/Rebel XSi (RAW) vs. Nikon D60 (RAW)

Canon EOS 450D (RAW)

Nikon D60 (RAW)

3.7MB JPEG (4272 x 2848)

3,354 KB JPEG (3872 x 2592)

Switching to our benchmark RAW converter, Adobe Camera RAW, equalizes image processing between the two cameras and allows us to get a much better idea of the level of detail actually captured. Although you're unlikely to be able to see it in anything but the largest of prints, the EOS 450D's resolution and per-pixel sharpness advantage over the (admittedly far less pricey) D60 is obvious, and in fact these are some of the most detailed results we've ever seen from a non-professional Canon DSLR thanks to what appears to be a slightly lighter anti alias filter (certainly compared to the 40D, for example).